This post contains a great example of your tax dollars hard at work helping the poor, but first our rant. When are people going to wake up and realize politicians and other “public servants” have been using the excuse of helping the least amongst us as an excuse to enrich themselves and their friends? The Poor, the children! Baloney!

There is so much money being spent by government that it’s nearly impossible to stay ahead of the brazen squandering of hard-earned taxpayer dollars. Everyday there is a new outrage uncovered. Fraud, bribes, theft, pay-to-play, financial mismanagement and the list goes on-and-on. How bad do things need to be before it dawns on voters that they are being taken for suckers?

Far too many New Jersey politicians and their buddies in “public service” have been engaged in a con game – convincing people that they will receive more from government than they are required to pay in taxes. This can’t possibly be true for the majority of taxpayers and yet people fall for this game over and over.

Vote for me and under my plan “you just pay a little and we’ll get the other guy to pay a lot”. Trust us, we’ll take care of you and help the poor at the same time. More money for education! What they really mean is –“more money for me.” Whether it’s more money in their personal pocket or more money under their control for the thrill of power, it’s all the same - a con.

The government taxes us in so many different ways, it’s impossible for the average person to figure out how much they actually pay in taxes. That’s all part of the con game. Everyday we learn of more corruption, fraud and abuse concerning government funds - whose money do you think these people are wasting – the other guys? You’re not getting your money’s worth and the people truly deserving our help, wind up with crumbs.

It may be time to rethink how we pay for government services, the present system isn’t working. The huge sums of taxpayer money sloshing around are apparently too tempting for many in positions of trust to keep their honesty intact. For those that start out dishonest, government service and business is an electromagnet.

Newark’s city housing authority has been ordered to return $3.9 million of the $6.5 million granted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide housing for the city's low- and moderate-income residents.

According to a review by federal officials, the funds were improperly used to buy a dozen building lots in a redevelopment zone designated for a sport’s arena for the New Jersey Devils. Newark’s housing authority, managed by executive director, Harold Lucas plans to challenge HUD’s order to return the funds.

HUD also found other problems, including missed deadlines for building low-income housing; failing to perform housing inspections and ensuring housing units were up to federal standards before families moved in.

Financial management practices of the housing authority were called into question last September, when $1 million was spent to refurbish the authority's headquarters, including the purchase of a plasma television for Lucas. Lucas spent money on a luxury vehicle and also paid his daughter $25,000 to run the authority's beauty pageant.

The HUD review also lowered a series of performance ratings for the housing authority, placing it in a category of being at risk for a takeover by the federal government.